Contact PD/PI: Urban, Randall J. O. Overall Project Summary The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) has participated as a CTSA hub since 2009. The academic home of our CTSA, the Institute for Translational Sciences (ITS), has brought together multidisciplinary translational teams (MTTs) and the resources necessary to accelerate discoveries toward better health for individuals and communities. Building on our existing strengths, CTSA initiatives have transformed UTMB?s learning and research culture to one that embraces multidisciplinary translational team (MTT) approaches to addressing significant health problems. We have developed novel educational curricula, significant clinical research programs in special populations with multisite clinical trials, and provided leadership in the Texas Regional CTSA consortium (TRCC) and nationally. UTMB?s CTSA hub supports the health goals of the nation by generating, testing and disseminating integrative team science, education and best practices through stakeholder involvement at all stages. Managed by a continuous improvement model using an Innovation Scorecard, we will address six specific aims, to: 1) Expand the knowledge base and practice of collaborative teams to advance the conduct of translational research through team-based innovation. Building on our team science leadership, we will test, learn, and disseminate multi-institutional teaming to enhance the quality, efficiency, effectiveness, and diversity of clinical and translational research. 2) Engage local, regional, and national stakeholders to make research more effective at meeting their needs. We will build upon our relationships to extend inter-institutional partnerships, and to work with stakeholders to disseminate scientific findings and advance the field of community engagement. 3) Harness the potential of harmonized large data platforms across the translational spectrum to improve research efficiency, develop technologies to support research teams, and share resources with researchers across the CTSA network. Our aims are designed to enhance our informatics infrastructure and training with regional and CTSA network interoperability putting existing and novel analytics tools into the hands of users. 4) Promote clinical and translational research across the lifespan including special populations. We will expand upon our significant strengths in multi-site trials in special populations to proactively engage the NCATS Trial Innovation Network for new trials originating from UTMB. 5) Improve training for a diverse workforce in the authentic skills needed to advance all phases of clinical and translational research. Our integrated U, K, and T programs will include participants with diverse professional and educational experience, as well as diverse age, gender, racial, and ethnic characteristics. 6) Develop and disseminate improved methods and processes for translation from discovery to improved health. We will apply a continuous improvement approach to understand barriers, develop effective interventions, and disseminate improvements in translational science and operations. Page 430 Project Summary/Abstract Contact PD/PI: Urban, Randall J. Narrative UTMB?s CTSA Hub will work with local, regional, and national partners to support translational research and accelerate discoveries toward better health. We will train a diverse workforce and build multidisciplinary teams to conduct efficient, high-quality clinical research across the lifespan that includes understudied populations. We will integrate our research and healthcare activities and will generate, apply and share data and best practices across institutions. Page 431